Nothing Like Us

chapter 7

"What're you getting?" I ask B without looking up from my menu, still somewhat surprised she's even allowed me to take her to dinner.

"I think I'm gonna go with this Venetian chicken..." she replies, still looking hers over as well, just to be sure she hasn't missed something that she'd rather have instead.

I scan the pages, searching for it "Where's that at?"

"Here..." she reaches across the table and taps my menu, pointing it out.

"Grilled chicken drizzled with an apricot citrus glaze..." I read aloud, wrinkling my nose "No thanks."

"What?" she smiles, trying to sound defensive "I think it sounds good."

I snap my menu closed and set it aside "I'm bored with this...I'll just get a steak."

"You're bored with looking at a menu after five minutes?" she laughs.

"Yep." I nod "I'd rather be looking at you.." I scan my eyes over her, taking in her perfectly simple black dress and the casual yet incredibly pretty way her hair is swept into a loose glossy bun at the nape of her neck "You look amazing tonight B...have I mentioned that?"

Her hand flutters around shyly "Only like a thousand times."

"Good...because you do."

She shakes her head "I feel like this is our first date or something...this is stupid."

"Oh this is a date?" I tease "Because I could have sworn you made it a point to tell me that it wasn't two, or three, or forty times."

"You know what I mean J."

A waiter appears beside our table, overly friendly and slightly annoying, hoping to gain a generous tip. Little does he know, he could be a complete asshole and I'd still tip him well, simply to avoid the 'Justin Bieber is rude to restaurant staff' TMZ article.

We place our orders, wait while our glasses are refilled from the bottle of red wine she ordered and then make small talk while we wait for our meals. I want to ask her, its killing me and has been since I read her tweet but I force myself to hold back a little longer.

"Oh my god...this is incredible..." she sighs with her first bite of chicken "Want to taste?"

I eye her food, and have to admit, it looks much better than it sounded "Yeah...give me a bite."

She cuts of a piece and leans forward to slip it into my mouth.

I nod with surprise "Damn that's good..." I look down at my steak, which now seems boring and plain "Kinda wish I'd ordered that instead."

"Do you want to trade?" she starts to push her plate over but I stop her "No...I'm good baby. But listen, if I ask you something will you tell me the truth?"

She tenses up a little and drops her eyes "Yeah...I guess so. What's up?"

I push a piece of steak around on my plate, creating little swirls in the sauce "What you tweeted the other night...about horrible things happening to you in the months while you were away?"

Still, she won't look up "Yeah? What about it?"

"What do you mean what about it?" I ask softly, reaching for her hand...she pulls back and rests them in her lap "Come on B...what was that all about?"

Her shoulders rise and fall with a deep sigh as if she's gathering herself and then finally, she meets my eyes "Nothing...just being away, missing everyone...missing you."

"Damn B..." I drop my head and give her a half hearted smile "You're still the worst liar I've ever met, you know that?"

"It wasn't a lie..." she argues quietly "I did miss you. I missed everyone, but you most of all."